We obtained a series of documents [download part one and part two,
both pdfs] today under a Freedom of Information request that show the
government is saying privately what we've been saying publicly: an Arctic oil spill would be all but impossible to clear up.

In
an email exchange, government officials told the energy secretary Chris
Huhne: "It is difficult to get assistance in case of pollution problems
in such areas, and near impossible to make good damage caused."

Another
document reports that "considerable challenges remain. The most
significant of these is environmental - and the possibility of a second
Gulf of Mexico type event ... The Arctic ecosystem is particularly vulnerable, and emergency responses would be slower and harder than in the Gulf of Mexico due to the area's remoteness and the difficulty of operating in sub-zero temperatures."

It seems that everyone is agreed. Arctic drilling is an outrageous and unnecessary gamble that has to stop.